@CanesFutbol Captain's Corner: Aug. 10, 2016
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – For the second year in a row, the captains of the University of Miami soccer team will be writing a blog for HurricaneSports.com throughout the season called Captain’s Corner.
Senior midfielder/defender Gianna Dal Pozzo, now in her second year as a team captain, checked in Wednesday with her first entry of the season. A native of Neuqua Valley, Ill., Dal Pozzo delves into Miami’s preseason training and excitement for the opening exhibition match Thursday night . . .
Hi, Canes fans! It’s great to be back with team after a summer away from everyone.
We had a hard week of practice; I think my teammates can say their bodies agree. We scrimmaged a lot the first few days. [Coaches] Tim [Hart] and [Mary-Frances Monroe] would hop in and play if we needed an extra number or two, which is always fun. We split up and worked with specific positions often, which allowed us to focus on what that the group needed to improve upon.
The last few days, we went over defending and attacking corner kicks and free kicks. Hopefully we’ll be able to capitalize on them his year and not concede any goals from them.
It’s been very competitive throughout; everyone is pushing each other to be better. This group is very cohesive and already feels like a family. It’s so nice to [see there are] girls helping each other out and upperclassmen are giving advice to freshmen.
The coaches were nice enough to give us a few afternoon sessions off to rest and get treatment. Ice baths have been very important to keep our legs as fresh as they can be. Our trainer, Lesley [King], has been busy and working hard to keep us healthy and ready to train.
We left today to travel to Orlando for our first exhibition game. On Thursday, we’ll play against UCF. The team is excited to finally play someone else and I think it’s the perfect opportunity to prove ourselves this season. UCF has been a big competitor of ours and after losing to them in overtime last year, it’s safe to say the team wantsa rematch.
We’ve been doing very well in practice and worked hard all spring and summer so I can’t wait to see it pay off. Follow along on Thursday evening to see the result of our game!
